My Ku'uipo
by CreationsGoneAwry
Summary: "I figured that, even if I had someone special, we'd just see each other whenever we wanted. If we were happy together, that'd be fine. But then I started dating you." Holly and Ludus!
1. Clingy

**A/N:** Oh no... Not ANOTHER SoS game for me to write for! Yes, it's happening! I've decided to test the waters, and what better way than with our tropical Lulukoko hunk, Ludus? I love this man so much. His Hawaiian lines just kill me.

I split my file between him and Hinata, and I just last night got Ludus's reverse proposal aaaahh. Expect more of him until I get burnt out and decide to go with Hinata.

I've always wanted to do a series of connected one-shots like this, so here's my first attempt. I whipped up this chapter in like less than an hour so it's nothing impressive, but I'm just introducing their relationship and everything. I don't think I'll jump around too much, so this will really be more of a multi-chap that doesn't have filler chapters than anything. Err, what I mean by that is you'll see their relationship progress a little every chapter, but it won't be like one chapter they're dating, the next they're suddenly married, and then the next they're back to just dating. It'll be progressive!

Feedback is always appreciated, and I hope you enjoy it! I don't have an updating schedule or anything (tried that once), but stay tuned for more!

also made slight edits because some awkward phrasing and words made it seem like English wasn't my first language ehehe

* * *

"...lly."

A quiet groan escaped her lips as she turned over onto her other side. Not even half-awake yet, she didn't pay much mind to the next noise that sounded like a chuckle.

"Holly."

She felt her body being lightly shaken and groaned again, desperately trying to turn and avoid whatever the disruption was. The disruption was having none of it, though, so after another futile attempt she groggily opened her eyes. Blurry images of blue hair and tanned skin came into view.

"Mm... Ludus..."

She could never mistake his long hair and kind smile, not to mention his soft, soothing voice. And to think, he was here waking her up like this.

Ludus was waking her up.

Her eyes shot open, all sleepiness and feelings of ease dissipated. She looked up at him in horror, her wide-eyed gaze speaking every thought traveling through her mind.

Ludus looked more or less unconcerned, however. "Looks like you're finally awake, yeah?"

She whimpered softly and pulled the covers up over her face. "D-Don't look at me..."

He laughed heartily, and she just knew he wore that teasing grin of his. "I've been looking for a while now. And as much as I would like to continue, I need you to wake up."

"..."

Come to think of it, why _was_ he here, anyway? She had no problems waking up by herself every morning after three seasons of disciplining herself, and usually if somebody came by her house at the crack of dawn, she would already be awake.

"You don't remember, do you?" Ludus's soft voice asked. She stayed silent under the blanket. "Yesterday was the Fruit Fiesta. It normally doesn't last that long, but the whole town celebrated... uh, _us_ , remember?"

Hazy memories of the previous day flooded her mind until she did, in fact, remember.

Tototara brought it upon herself to announce the two's relationship, which was more or less public knowledge already after a week... But that didn't stop everybody from dragging out the ceremony and conversation, anyway.

Iluka in particular had bombarded Holly with personal questions, making sure that Ludus was actually the one she wanted and wondering if he was a real gentleman. She remembered how flustered she felt without Ludus by her side to deflect some of the questions, but luckily Siluka waltzed in before too long and dragged her twin away.

It lasted until at least nightfall, because she remembered hearing the crickets sing and Ludus walking her home and reminding her of how slender she was.

She also remembered feeling a little faint and having difficulty walking...

"Was I drinking last night?"

Holly removed the covers from her face and sat up in bed, staring directly at Ludus. He avoided her gaze, though, casting more suspicion on the situation.

"...Yeah, a bit."

"Hmm."

So that was why he was waking her up? What time was it? She glanced at her bedside alarm clock and saw it read seven-thirty.

"Ah! I overslept?!"

She made an immediate move to get out of bed, but Ludus's hand kept her firmly in place. She gazed at him questioningly, but a dull sensation in her head told her almost everything she needed to know already.

"Just rest for a little while, yeah? You outdid yourself last night."

His calm and caring expression made it just a bit easier to lie back down, though it did nothing to ease the worries which were now creeping up.

She sighed and rubbed at her head. "I can't just stay here all morning. I have to take care of the farm... and the animals..."

She couldn't believe she actually drank. Back home she would never even glance at alcohol or the like, but it was like ever since she moved out, this strange feeling of freedom overcame her and she felt like she could do anything. She was barely even old enough to drink, not to mention she wasn't too fond of most mixers and whatnot.

Ludus shook his head. "They'll just have to wait. You're in no shape to take care of anything but yourself."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his overprotectiveness, but she had to admit, he had a point. She didn't need to collapse while watering her crops. If she really thought about it, she was extremely lucky to have him here right now...

"Um, I don't mean to be rude, but... why exactly did you come wake me up, anyway?" she inquired. "If you knew I was kind of, um, hungover, why not just let me sleep?"

"...Well, that's - "

He cut himself off and turned his head, seemingly not willing to answer her. That was unlike him. He was always straightforward and to the point, so why the hesitation?

"Ludus?"

"I was worried about you," he said suddenly, turning toward her with a gentle smile. His cheeks gradually heated up, causing her own to rise in temperature as well. "I saw Caolila and Zahau break out some wine after the kids went to bed, and then you asked them for some and... well, I couldn't exactly stop you."

That didn't really sound like her. Though it was a festival night, so anything went, she supposed.

Ludus sighed. "I walked you home and you leaned on me practically the whole way back, and I promised you I'd come check on you in the morning, yeah? Looks like you don't remember that, either."

Holly bit her lip, feeling both guilty and upset that she couldn't remember. After he was being so sweet, too... Dang it! Those moments were so few and far between, and she just had to get herself drunk on whatever so she didn't remember it.

"I'm sorry," she told him sheepishly, staring down at her feet. "I must have been a handful."

"No, not at all." He grabbed her hand and lightly began tracing circles on her knuckles with his thumb. "Actually, you were kind of the life of the party. You even managed to crack a smile out of Mithra with your energetic chatter." He chuckled.

She laughed with him. "Really? I wish I could remember."

"Mm... I don't."

"What?"

He took his hand back to rub his neck, glancing awkwardly around the room. "I mean... don't get me wrong, last night was fun and all, but... you were a little, uh, clingy."

"Wh-What?"

Clingy? What did that mean? And why was he getting so defensive? Did she miss something that made him flustered again?

"No, never mind," he said, brushing it off and deflating her curiosity. "I-If you don't remember, there's no point in telling you."

"No! Tell me!" she pleaded, grabbing his arm and forcing him to face her. He only lasted a second or two before turning away again.

He shook his head. "No way. It was embarrassing. I don't think the twins will let me live it down for a while."

Holly begged and pouted, but he wouldn't budge. "Fine," she conceded, crossing her arms defiantly.

He chuckled at her childish reaction. "If you really want to know, you can ask the twins. I'm sure they would just love to tell you all about it... but make sure I'm not with you, yeah?"

"...It's really embarrassing?"

Ludus nodded wordlessly.

"And can I talk to you about it later?"

He sighed. "If it'll make you happy."

She smiled a bit. "Okay. I'll be sure to pay Iluka a visit today and ask for some chai tea. That's always an invitation to talk, you know."

"...Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

Ludus stood up and started walking towards the door. "Make sure to get some rest today. And lay off the drinks for a while, yeah? I have to get back to open the shop, but if you're feeling better, come and see me and I'll take some time off to hang out with you."

She nodded happily despite his big brotherly nagging. "Okay. I'll see you later. And, um, Ludus?"

One hand already on the doorknob, he turned back around to face her. "Hm?"

"Thanks for checking up on me." She fiddled with her fingers, trying to preoccupy herself so she wouldn't blush so much. She didn't dare look at him.

"Y-Yeah, no problem. See you, Holly."

Ludus shut the door behind him and left her to herself. She waited a minute or two to calm down, then decided to get up. Her head pounded slightly but that was nothing a quick breakfast couldn't fix.

She'd make sure to lay off the alcohol, but once she felt better she was definitely going to the seaside cafe and hear all about last night's embarrassing moments.

* * *

 _~CGA_


	2. Smile

**A/N:** I'm no good at writing titles for chapters so forgive me if they're awkward. Also I binged all of Ludus's heart events so I might get some details wrong orz

Thank you Corrisha (though I still mentally call you CrimsonCrush sometimes haha) for reviewing and all my faves/followers! I hope I don't disappoint you!

* * *

"Well, Gram, you might find it interesting that Ludus invited Holly into his room already."

...And this was their cue to leave. Iluka, st -

"Alone."

It wasn't funny anym -

" _Before_ they were dating."

Despite the thoughts piling up in his mind, his mouth was just not quick enough to protest verbally. He'd known for ages that Iluka was the devil reincarnated, but this was taking it too far. He wasn't even here to talk about his and Holly's relationship – how did it come to this, anyway? - but now it was too late to get back on topic.

"Let's go, Holly," he coaxed quietly, slipping his hand around hers to lead her away as quickly and effectively as possible. Tototara's lectures might as well have fallen on deaf ears – after all, it wasn't like he'd invited her into his room completely unaware of the implications, even if Holly had been.

Once they were a safe distance away, Ludus sighed and let go of her hand. He shook his head and chuckled wryly. "E kala mai. There was no way to tell that was coming."

Holly just smiled back. "It's okay. Actually... it's kind of refreshing that they tease you like that."

"Huh? You think so?"

She nodded. "Normally it's the other way around, with you picking on Iluka for her clumsiness and being uptight, or you make fun of Tototara for always talking about how beautiful she was back then... or now, I guess."

She laughed a little. "But really, I think it just shows how close you all are as a family. To be honest, I'm kind of jealous."

"Jealous?" From what he'd heard, she didn't exactly come from a broken family.

Holly fiddled with her fingers, prolonging the silence. "Well... my little sister was born when I was nine, so there's a pretty big age gap between us. My father is very authoritative and traditional, and my mother's really polite and kind and almost distant. It's not that I don't get along with them, but I can't see myself joke around with them like I see you do with the twins or Tototara."

His mouth curved into a frown. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"No! Not at all!" she countered a bit dismissively, waving her hands in front of her. "It makes me jealous, but... it also kind of makes me feel warm? It doesn't really make sense."

He laughed and ruffled the top of her hair. "Mahalo, Holly. It makes _me_ feel warm to hear you say that."

Holly tried to fix her hair while another silence descended upon them. It was far from uncomfortable, but it reminded Ludus of their original intentions, and how they were no closer to deciphering the mystery than when they first started.

"Looks like nobody knows... Zahau was acting suspicious, though. Maybe we could try asking him again."

She nodded almost instantly, but he thought it looked a little forced. He did bring her into this without warning, so it came as no surprise that she wasn't as interested as he was.

"How about we go somewhere and just think about this?"

"Okay."

They strode to Lala Salama's porch and brainstormed, though Ludus admitted out loud he had an idea why nobody was coming to the shop. It was all slowly adding up and making sense.

And so it didn't even faze him when he saw Alma and Schalk forcefully turning away Haulani needing something repaired, scolding him and saying Ludus needed a break to hang out with his girlfriend.

He appreciated the concern, especially when it was such a combined effort from the town, but he didn't really need their help to spend some time with Holly.

...Of course, that wasn't to say he was going to tell them this and let their effort go to waste.

He turned to Holly and smiled brightly, no longer torn between options. "It seems like the whole town is telling us to, anyway, so... would you like to go on a date, Holly?"

"D-Date...?" She seemed taken aback at first, perhaps not having fully put the pieces together, but then nodded and smiled happily.

…

A date. A _date._ Where was a good place for a date?

It seemed he put the carriage before the horse.

He was lucky Holly requested some extra time to prepare herself despite his persuasion that she looked just fine, and now he racked his brain for possible romantic locations. There was always that tree where he confessed his feelings for her, and it seemed pretty romantic, but what would they do there? Would she prefer a restaurant? Was she even hungry? Was he?

Ludus wasn't typically a nervous person but suddenly he found himself at the mercy of his anxiety. It only grew worse when he realized this would be their first date. He promised he would make her happy no matter what, but what if he couldn't uphold it?

It was just Holly, so he should have been able to remain calm and act natural, but it was because it was _just Holly_ that he was this high-strung.

She never complained about anything – not her farm work or home life or problems with villagers, nothing. He admitted he didn't know her preferences for food, if she had any, or her favorite colors, if one existed, and he now admitted there was a good chance she was only with him because it would have been hard for her to turn him down. She simply stayed with him out of pity.

...No. If that were true, there was no way she would have said what she did when they were alone in his room, that she knew the implications behind telling him how lucky his future wife would be because of his handiwork proficiency.

It was a mutual love and he had nothing to worry about.

Except he still had to figure out a date location.

Not thirty seconds after he hastily made a decision, Holly's gentle footsteps sounded in the distance. She stood elegantly, clad in a light and airy short-sleeved dress with a yellow and red checkered pattern, the skirt flaring out below her waist, dark brown cowboy boots -

That was what she was wearing earlier. Confusion muddled his mind, and he couldn't stop himself from voicing it.

"I thought you went home to change."

She smiled sheepishly and shook her head. "Well... I thought about it, but we're just going to the cafe, right?"

"The seaside cafe?"

"Yeah." She blinked, looking confused, herself. "I mean, it's already kind of late, and I still need to water my crops again before it gets too dark. I-Is that okay?"

"No – yeah, yeah, totally okay! As long as you're happy, yeah? That's all I care about."

Holly's eyes lit up brilliantly like she was on the receiving end of a great compliment, and she smiled widely.

Meanwhile, Ludus decided it wasn't so bad letting her hold the reigns every once in a while, if it meant she would smile like that.

* * *

 _~CGA_


	3. Spoiled, Part One

**A/N:** This isn't a multichapter story but a collection of connected one-shots... except these new few entries which will be in direct succession. My logic doesn't make sense sometimes =w=

Try not to get used to the daily updates haha. There will definitely come a time when I start actually playing the game again instead of writing about it. Thank you for reviewing and favoriting and following!

* * *

One difference between being blessed and being spoiled was when someone was blessed, they were surrounded by good things and happiness because they earned and deserved it. But when someone was spoiled, they didn't always deserve what made them happy.

Holly was spoiled, very much so.

That wasn't to say she hadn't earned her happiness, especially after having fought tooth and nail to get to where she was in life, but sometimes she felt she didn't deserve to be surrounded by so many great people.

The villagers of all three towns were so warm and inviting when she first met them, and she'd only grown closer with them after all this time. Westown felt like home, Lulukoko was a cozy retreat, and Tsuyukusa had some of the best food she didn't even know existed.

Farming life had proven to be even better than she'd ever dreamed. At this point, cloud nine was a place she frequented.

But the other difference between being blessed and spoiled was that people who were blessed knew when enough was enough, which usually happened after the first couple good things happened. But Holly... Holly was spoiled through and through. Despite acknowledging each and every one of her blessings daily, she still wasn't quite satisfied.

"He still treats me like a little sister," she said with a sigh. She carefully lined up a thin piece of cardboard cut to shape over top of the flower and pressed down gently.

Today, Lisette was teaching her how to press flowers. Holly would have asked Omiyo from Tsuyukusa since it seemed to be a favorite hobby of hers, but once she expressed interest, Lisette insisted she come to the flower shop instead. And, well, that just meant she could vent to her best friend.

"It's still early in the relationship!" Lisette countered, in the process of flattening her own flower. "You two haven't even been goin' out for two weeks yet. Oh, once you got the cardboard aligned, go ahead and put the top piece on and tighten the screws."

Holly nodded and did as was instructed, but frowned once she realized what Lisette said. "But... when he confessed to me, you know, he said there was no way he could treat me like a little sister now. It's just confusing."

"Well, what does he do that's confusin' you?"

Lisette finished tightening the screws on her own flower press and pushed it aside along with Holly's, giving her undivided attention.

Holly fiddled with her fingers, a nervous habit no doubt everybody she knew had picked up on by now. "He... ruffles my hair."

Lisette nodded slowly like she suddenly understood everything. "Mhm... the hair mussin'."

"Wh-What? Does that mean something?"

Lisette shook her head. "Go on."

"...O-Okay. Well, it doesn't really bother me, but then sometimes I see him do it to Iluka, too... who's almost literally his little sister."

Lisette sat back in her chair and sighed, closing her eyes.

"Lisette? You know something!"

Lisette was an expert when it came to all things romance... or so she claimed. She'd read so many fairy tales and love stories it wasn't funny. Holly shared in reading some of them, but Lisette had her beaten by at least two hundred books, most of which she'd never even heard of before.

"Well, I mean, I can see why you're so confused, Holly." She propped herself back up in the chair. "That's definitely some big brotherly affection goin' on, but I just have a hard time believin' that's how he thinks of you. If ya look at the two of you from the outside, it looks like you're both just nervous, and that's how a new couple works. You get nervous thinkin' bout what the other person likes and dislikes and then you end up doin' nothing out of fear that you're gonna upset them."

Holly bit her lip. "So you think he's nervous, and that's why he's resorting to treating me like any other girl?"

Lisette nodded. "More or less." Then she giggled. "But don't get all angry. That means he really cares about you."

"I guess you're right... It's not like we don't _ever_ do couple-y things. Sometimes he holds my hand and the yesterday we went on our first date - "

"EEEE! You did?!" Lisette screeched, grinning from ear to ear. "Why didn't ya tell me? How'd it go? Did he kiss you?"

Holly shook her head a bit sadly. "If he did, I wouldn't be coming to you for advice on how to get him from treating me like a little sister."

Then Lisette's words sunk in once more and Holly's face lit up like a tomato. K-Kiss? Her and Ludus? No way!

She hid her face in her hands and shook her head over and over. "L-Ludus doesn't see me like that," she said, her voice a little muffled.

They'd only been dating for, like Lisette said, less than two weeks yet. Currently, it was the twenty-ninth day of Fall, and Ludus confessed to her on the nineteenth. Thinking about it like that, she guessed she didn't mind the slow development of their relationship. It was still far too early to think about stuff like that.

But maybe she wanted to, anyway. She groaned, defeated.

Lisette giggled. "Girls in love are so cute," she mused, much to Holly's annoyance. "Have you asked Ludus why he treats you that way?"

"Hm?" Holly looked up. "Ask him?"

Lisette nodded. "Well, sure. You gotta confirm it with him. He might not even realize he's treatin' you like a little sister. On that same note, are you two in public when that stuff happens or does he even do it when you're alone?"

Yesterday when Ludus pulled her away from Tototara and Iluka's teasing, he seemed to have no problem holding her hand, plus there was the other day when she was hungover and he came to see her and he grabbed her hand and even traced circles on it like it was nothing...

"Boys are so confusing!" she shouted exasperatedly.

"They sure are," Lisette agreed with another giggle. "Um, is there anything that changed between the two of you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the first time I saw you two together after you started goin' out, I remember Ludus walkin' real close to you. He didn't really seem like the type of guy who'd start getting shy with his advances outta nowhere."

Holly nodded, thinking back.

After he confessed to her and she accepted, she remembered a really long, close, embarrassing hug. And he definitely wasn't treating her like a sister when he asked to hold her hand the first time, or when he walked her back to her house the night of the Fruit Fiesta...

Come to think of it, Lisette was absolutely right. Ludus wasn't exactly shy about his feelings or wanting to be physically close with her, which made this all the stranger.

...Then it hit her.

"He's been acting like this ever since the Fruit Fiesta."

Lisette tilted her head. "Fruit Fiesta? Is that a Lulukoko holiday?"

"Err, yeah," Holly replied lamely, not realizing she'd spoken aloud. "We exchanged fruits throughout the day and it was supposed to end there, but um, I guess everybody in town was so excited for me and Ludus that there was kind of a party afterwards. I ended up... well, drinking, and then Ludus walked me home and even came to check up on me the next day to make sure I was okay."

"So that's why you were late for lunch!" Lisette gathered. "I knew there had to be somethin' goin' on."

Holly smiled sheepishly and nodded. By the time she finally arrived at the flower shop after her farm work, Lisette's lunch break was already over so they couldn't go out together, and Holly never got the chance to properly explain herself.

"Somethin' happened at that party?"

Holly nodded slowly, remembering what little pieces of the story Iluka had told her. "U-Um, apparently I was a little drunk and kept... asking Ludus for hugs and playing with his hair and - "

"What?!"

Holly stumbled back in her chair, surprised by Lisette's outburst. She was such a delicate girl but when they started talking about the progression of Holly's relationship she always got a little more excited than was necessary.

"That's why! I'm thinkin' you scared the poor guy into thinkin' you only want all this touchy-feely stuff, and now he's not sure how to act around you."

"B-But - "

"No buts! You hafta apologize. I'm assuming you haven't talked to him about this yet, right?"

Holly nodded. She'd asked Ludus if they could talk about it, but after hearing what happened she didn't feel like even mentioning it.

"That's not good, Holly. Communication is key in a relationship. You two have to talk it out and get all this awkward stuff out in the open, otherwise it's just gonna eat you both alive."

"...Okay."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Holly feeling as if she'd just been scolded and lectured by her mother. Then she cleared her throat. "How do I start?"

"Start what?"

"Start apologizing. It's really awkward and embarrassing to even think about it..."

Lisette shook her head. "You have to get past all that. Can I ask you a serious question, Holly?"

"What?"

"Do you want a physical relationship with Ludus?"

"Wh-What?"

"Yes or no," Lisette said sternly, her face serious.

Meanwhile, Holly's face was on fire. What the heck was she talking about... It was so embarrassing thinking about stuff like that, let alone talking about it.

But okay, she would answer it. She made a mistake by drinking so much that night, but she had to admit... she _did_ indeed want to have that kind of relationship with Ludus. She wanted to hold his hand and see him get flustered when she asked for hugs and maybe even k-kiss him sometimes. That didn't make her weird, did it?

"...Yes."

Lisette nodded. "Good." She sighed and her face softened into a friendlier expression, one that Holly was more used to. "Then you have to talk to him about how you're feelin'. Ask him if he's still nervous about what happened that night, and then ask him if he realizes he's treatin' you like you're his little sister. That's all the advice I can give you right now."

Holly smiled. "Thanks, Lisette. I can always count on you to give me a swift kick in the butt."

Lisette giggled. "What else are girlfriends for?"

Holly scooted her chair back and stood up. Then she remembered the flower pressers to her right. "How long do those take?"

"Hmm... Usually two or three days. Keep comin' by and I'll let you know when they're done. And I definitely want you to keep me updated on you and Ludus!"

"I will, I will!" Holly said with a laugh. "I'll see you later."

Lisette nodded and waved. "Good luck with everything, Holly."

Holly turned and exited the shop, allowing herself a deep sigh as she rested against the siding of the building. Talking with Lisette definitely helped a lot, but she still had to go through with the hard part – talking through the awkward things with Ludus. She shifted her weight uncomfortably between her feet.

She glanced down at her watch. Twelve-thirty. She had roughly five hours to prepare herself before Ludus was free to talk.

Time to think of what she was going to say.

* * *

 _~CGA_


	4. Spoiled, Part Two

**A/N:** I admittedly don't remember Ludus's orange event at all (well, except for the important part) so I'm making it up~ As soon as Haulani and Tigre showed up and Ludus was free to romance at long last, he was already at max light green FP to start dating so I triggered all of his events basically day after day ahaha...

* * *

It was ten minutes after five when Holly made her way to Lulukoko. She passed by Zahau and his family and nodded to Haulani, who was too busy fishing to notice her, before stopping to steel herself in front of Carosello. Fall in Lulukoko was still rather hot, but she was glad it wasn't summer weather, when she would have to stop for a drink before going back home.

She caught her breath and was about to start walking again, but a tug on the back of her collar nearly caused her to fall backwards with a yelp.

"Holly."

It was Iluka, she realized as she turned around. Of course, the sharp yank should have already revealed that fact to her – she didn't know anybody else, especially in Lulukoko, who would think of doing that to get someone's attention.

"What's wrong?" Holly asked. Iluka never really called her out for anything before.

"Nothing's wrong with _me_ ," Iluka replied, just a hint of teasing in her voice, "but you looked pale as a ghost just now."

Holly tried her best to laugh it off but just ended up sounding awkward, so she sighed and slumped her shoulders. "It's... I-I have to talk to Ludus about something."

"Hm, if it's got you that worked up, he must have done something pretty weird. Siluka and I came up with a good nickname for him – _Lewd-_ us. You should call him that whenever he acts up."

"Ha ha..." Holly shook her head. "It was actually something I did... I guess. Um, at the Fruit Fiesta - "

"When I told you two to get a room?" Iluka's face suddenly twisted in horror. "Don't tell me. When he walked you home, did he actually - "

"N-No! It wasn't anything like that!" Holly sighed. She wasn't getting anywhere with this. "Um, I'm sorry, Iluka, but I really have to get to Lu - "

"I don't think our relationship is any of your business, Iluka," another voice interrupted her, a much deeper, more threatening voice.

Holly flinched reflexively, feeling her heart jump up into her throat and back, before turning around and facing Ludus. Betraying his voice, his face showed no signs of being upset or annoyed or anything of the sort. She smiled up at him, not really knowing if she was relieved to see him or just putting up a front to hide her nervousness. Regardless, seeing him just always made her smile no matter what.

"Well, well, if it isn't the lewd man himself," Iluka said smugly, seemingly not bothered at all by Ludus's statement.

"And again with that nickname..." Ludus stated with a sigh, shaking his head. "Iluka, you don't need to torment Holly just because you're upset with me, yeah?"

"Who said I'm upset with you? And why would I be?" Iluka's voice raised a few pitches in defense.

Holly awkwardly looked between the two and took a couple steps back. She didn't think she should be a part of this.

Opposite of her, Ludus walked up to Iluka and gave her a pat on the head before ruffling her hair. Holly blinked, not exactly surprised but still rather taken aback. She averted her eyes, taking a few more steps back.

"Just because I'm dating Holly doesn't mean I've forgotten about you and Siluka, you know," Ludus said sympathetically but teasingly.

"S-Stop it, you lewd weirdo-creep!" Iluka protested, slapping his hand away forcefully. "I'm not a child!" She cleared her throat. "Besides, you should be worrying about Holly instead."

"Huh?"

Iluka clicked her tongue. "Seriously, you're such a blockhead sometimes. Go chase after her and make up and everything so I can go back to being disgusted by your lovey-dovey attitude."

"Chase after – where did she go?"

"E kala mai. Can't help you with that one, Big Bro." Iluka just shrugged in defiance.

Ludus looked around but saw no sign of Holly, and the next instant he ran off, leaving Iluka behind.

She sighed. "Really... such a blockhead."

"That was uncharacteristically nice of you, Iluka."

"...Shut it, Siluka."

Siluka walked up to Iluka's side and smiled. "You should be more honest with your feelings."

Iluka scoffed. "When you say it like that, it sounds like I _have_ feelings for him, and that's gross. I just think he should reevaluate what's important to him."

"Ludus can't be our big brother forever. He needs to grow up sometime," Siluka stated. "As do we."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it already. Sheesh."

…

"Holly?"

She didn't turn to face him, instead staring at her reflection in the water. Her feet decided to take her away, but she didn't actually go that far – she was standing just outside the town limits at the crossroads in front of the small spring.

"I'm sorry I ran away."

"It's fine – I mean, it's not fine, but, just... you worried me, yeah?" He settled in by her side, watching her reflection as well. "Did I do something to upset you?"

"..."

"If you don't tell me, I can't help, you know."

Holly bit her lip and shook her head. "You don't always have to help me..."

"Huh?"

She smiled sadly. "When you keep running to my rescue like this, it's like you still think of me as... as a little sister." She closed her eyes, not wanting to see either of their reflections.

Ludus sighed, but it sounded more relieved than anything. "Is that what's been bothering you? I thought you were acting a little strange yesterday."

"...But it's true, isn't it? You can't treat me like a woman, and th-that's why you've been so distant since all that stuff I did at the Fruit Fiesta."

"Fruit Fie – _oh_."

A silence befell them, more awkward than any other moment between them, until Ludus cleared his throat.

"Holly, will you look at me?"

She slowly opened her eyes and turned to face him, struggling to maintain eye contact. The dark amber color of his eyes made her feel both relaxed but slightly intimidated at the same time. His intense gaze made her want to look away, but she felt she couldn't. She was just... drawn to him.

"I don't think of you as a little sister," he told her earnestly. "And I certainly didn't intend to push you away these past couple days. E kala mai. But sometimes it's hard for me to contain my feelings for you, and especially after that night when you were all over me, telling me you wanted to be closer to me and be with me forever... I thought I was going to go insane, yeah?"

Holly finally managed to break away from his gaze, looking down at the ground while she felt her face grow several shades redder. She would never know how he could say things like that with such a serious face. She gulped.

"S-So... it's not that you think of me as a sister - "

"I could never," Ludus confirmed. "If you still don't believe me... then look up."

Look up? What -

"Mmph!"

Holly's eyes widened and she flinched back in reflex but Ludus wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her into him, never breaking the bond of their interlocked lips. After the shock died down, her eyes fluttered shut and she kissed him back lightly, tenderly, as if she thought she was doing it wrong.

Their kisses were gentle and few and short, and before Holly could fully get used to the feeling of their lips meshing together, Ludus pulled back. She took a few extra moments to bounce back to reality, slowly opening her eyes and staring up at him. Was he blushing? She couldn't be sure.

"Do you understand now?"

She nodded wordlessly, understanding all too well from just those few seconds he was kissing her. "Th-There's no way I'm just a sister to you..."

Suddenly the realization of the moment caught up to her. She felt the color rush back to her face and she looked away bashfully.

Ludus chuckled. "I'll try and do better so you never think that way again, yeah?"

Though she couldn't see him, his voice sounded higher and like it was cracking every now and again. No way – he was embarrassed too and now he was making her even more embarrassed. She hid her face in her hands and shook her head.

"A-And..." he began hesitantly. She peeked through her fingers to see him rubbing the side of his neck, the hue of his face easily rivaling hers. "Try not to act so cute and all when we're in public, yeah? And even if you do it when we're alone, I don't want you to be drunk and out of it so I'd feel terrible for wanting to do anything... yeah?"

"B-But I'm not cute even when I try..."

Ludus sighed exasperatedly, palming his face as Holly shook her head. Then he chuckled and slowly embraced her, bringing her into his chest. Her heart felt like it was about to beat right out of her chest, but as he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms fully around her, she noticed... there was another heartbeat that sounded out of control. This was Ludus's heartbeat? It was so fast and erratic, yet somehow it calmed her knowing he wasn't calm.

"You don't have to try," he told her softly, hugging her tighter and resting his chin atop her head. "You're just always cute, my ku'uipo."

"Mm..."

She still disagreed, but she didn't have the strength to argue, her knees going weak. The only thing keeping her steady was Ludus's embrace.

She was blessed with so many wonderful things in life, him of course being at the very top of the list, that she couldn't even count them all. So why was it she still wanted more? Though she felt her body might give out at any moment, she still wanted to push herself closer to Ludus, to breathe in his natural beachy scent, to feel warm and protected within his arms.

Ludus just spoiled her to the point she felt like a pampered princess – a royal farmer who had to work for a living with cows, chicken, and sheep as her subjects – but it wasn't as if she didn't deserve it all, right?

She squeezed him back, just barely managing to get her arms around him, and let the question float away unanswered into the evening air.

* * *

 _~CGA_


	5. Snow

Snow covered the ground, a cold, pure white blanket that served as a reminder that winter was finally here. It piled up on the roof of her house, all throughout the fields, on the tops of trees in the distance as far as she could see. As soon as she stepped outside, she felt the chill in the air that came with it.

Regardless, a new season meant a new plethora of work for her.

It was time to hoe the soil and cover up the tree saplings and repair the fences around the animal barns.

Of course, Holly needed help with that last one, so after planting her new crops she was on her way to Lulukoko, losing a layer before she started walking. It was the first day of winter, but although it was cold on her farm, she had a lingering suspicion it wouldn't be quite so chilly in the tropical village.

As she walked the lengthy path joining the village and crossroads, she was glad she ditched her overcoat – already, it had probably risen twenty degrees. Once she reached Lulukoko, she might even wish she dressed for a beach party instead.

True to her thoughts, it was still very warm inside the village limits. Residents still wore tube tops and capri pants as if winter was nothing but a myth. Meanwhile, Holly was dressed for the weather on her farm, long boots and muffler and all. She regretted that decision instantly upon seeing the calm ripples running along the surface of the sea. Water didn't freeze here, she realized. In fact, it was probably still warm enough to swim in.

She sighed, then mentally sighed again as she noticed she couldn't see her breath. If this was Westown or Tsuyukusa she would've been _underdressed,_ but Ludus just had to live in this unbearably hot climate... Maybe she just wouldn't see him so much during the season.

Yeah, right. She didn't think either of them could handle that. Just thinking about the other day when they had their first kiss sent shivers down her spine. There was no way she could go even a few hours without seeing him. Maybe her drunken self wasn't so wrong with her feelings of wanting to cling to him, but just more outspoken about it.

"Yo! Mornin, Holly!"

Holly snapped out of her reverie and turned her head towards the direction the voice came from, spotting Zahau in the distance. Like all the other residents she'd seen so far, he looked no different than usual, still sporting the same sleeveless shirt and shorts.

She walked up to him and smiled. "Good morning. Oh, and happy winter."

"Ah, is it winter already? It's pretty hard to tell in this town," he said teasingly, a satisfied grin on his face.

She laughed and shook her head. "Did the temperature change at all here?"

Zahau crossed his arms. "Don't think so. But hey, you look pretty cold, so it may have."

She pulled at her jacket sleeves. "Well, this keeps the snow from getting to my skin. Do you even know what snow is? It's that cold white stuff that seems to fall everywhere but here."

"Hey, now! Ahaha. I'll have you know back in the day I made quite the mean snow angel."

Holly laughed along with him until the conversation dwindled down.

He cleared his throat. "I suppose you're here for a reason, right? I usually don't see ya till early evening. You here to see Ludus?"

She nodded. "Yes, but um... not for leisure. I need his help fixing some of my fences."

"Oh! Well, I won't keep ya then," Zahau said, starting to back away. "I know you'll be pretty busy today, but if you have the time, stop on by later, yeah? The kids have been dyin' to have you over for supper again, Alma especially. She keeps sayin' things like 'I have to show Holly my pretty new shell!' or 'Schalk's too mean! I wanna play with Holly!'"

Holly giggled, imagining Alma's face when she talked. Zahau crossed his arms again.

"...Truthfully, I think Caolila and I just need a break from the two of them. Whenever you're free for a night or so, lemme know. We'll even let ya name your price!"

"Will do," Holly said with a chuckle, then she nodded to him and headed off. She turned her attention to the cafe, but Iluka and Siluka looked a bit too busy to chat, and besides, she wasn't here for pleasure. As much as she hated it, she was here for business.

Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Ludus very many times for anything business-related. She wondered how he would act seeing her show up, needing some handiwork tasks. Would he stay professional? Would he favor her?

Anticipation boiled up inside of her, making her even warmer than before. She would definitely have to leave the extra layers off when she came here from now on.

A few minutes passed as she walked, and she could finally see Relacion's stand in the distance. Ludus stood behind the counter, tending to another customer. Ah... should she wait until he took care of that customer? It seemed rather rude to just stand in line behind him and wait.

She ruminated on it for a second longer, after which she saw the customer walking away. Well, no sense prolonging it any further – after all, the longer she waited to complete this, the longer it would take for her to get her other daily chores done. She hadn't even taken care of her livestock yet.

She slowly made her way to the counter, surprised that Ludus hadn't noticed her. He was turned around, fixating his gaze on a piece of furniture, what she thought was a chair as she came closer. She remembered the time he invited her into his room to watch him put the finishes on a chair back in the early fall. She was... pretty vocal at that time, too.

Holly hesitated before tapping the bell on the counter, snapping him to attention. He turned around immediately, nearly dropping his hammer when he saw just who his customer was.

"Oh! Morning, Holly," he greeted, setting the hammer down on the counter. "It's rare you come here so early. Did you come to watch me work?"

She guessed he favored her a little bit, then. There was nothing wrong with that, far from it, but she did want to see him at least try and keep a straight face while greeting her at work.

She smiled and shook her head, though she had to admit she would have loved to keep watching him. He always looked so dedicated to what he did, she couldn't help but admire him. "No. Um, I actually need your help with something."

"What is it?"

"Some of the fences around my animals' pens broke overnight. I think the wood was rotted and old anyway, and then all the snowfall didn't help."

Ludus put a hand to his chin like he was thinking. "Okay. Give me just a second here and then we can head over to get it fixed."

She nodded and watched as he fumbled with the tools and such around his shop. He pulled some sort of large carryall bag out from underneath the counter and began piling items upon items inside. She saw tools and a box of nails go into it, then he zipped it up and started gathering long, straight pieces of wood.

"H-Hold on." Holly stepped in front of him, preventing him from walking any farther. "Don't you have an easier way of transporting those?"

"What, these?" He gestured to the ten or so beams he carried on either shoulder. "Not really. Don't worry, they're not that heavy."

"But - "

Ludus sighed, cutting her off. "If you're that worried about it... how about you carry the tool bag?"

She glanced over to where he set the carryall bag. "Okay. B-But if it gets to be too much to handle, you have to let me know, okay?"

He chuckled and shifted the weight of the beams to carry them more comfortably. "Whatever you say, Big Sis."

Holly pouted at his back as he began walking and hurriedly crouched down to pick up the bag. It was a bit heavier than she expected, but the shoulder strap was comfortable so it wouldn't be too bad.

"I mean it, though," she mused as they walked together throughout the town. "If you feel overworked, let me take some of it."

"Do you think you can lift even one of these?"

She bit her lip, clutching the bag's strap. He was teasing her again. "I definitely could!"

"Not," Ludus added for her with another chuckle. "Seriously, Holly. You might be strong for a woman because you're a farmer, but carrying this much is nothing for me."

She slowly nodded, sneaking a peek at his physique. It was true – carrying that much probably wasn't anything for him. He was well-built from what she could tell. His exposed arms were large and strong, his calves big and burly, and his back tall and straight. No wonder he was a handyman.

And she was ever so lucky to have him, she thought with a giggle.

"Hm? What's so funny?"

"A-Ah!" She hadn't realized she laughed so loud, and now a familiar red hue was surely spreading across her face. At least she was only caught giggling and not for fawning over him. "N-Nothing," she settled for after a while, refusing to let herself get all flustered again.

They made it through town without any trouble, thankfully, but when they got out of it and into the crossroads, they noticed it was snowing rather hard. Holly still had most of her early winter morning gear on, but Ludus on the other hand was exposed to the cold.

"Nah, it's fine," he assured her when she voiced her concerns. Instead, he trekked on until they finally reached her farm.

He set down the beams against the side of the barn, stepping back to look at the fence surrounding it. Sure enough, the wood was split in several places and extremely weak in most others. The coop's fence was in slightly better condition but could do with an overhaul as well.

"It's a good thing you came to me when you did, otherwise your animals might have gotten out."

She laughed sheepishly. "I was prepared to just keep them inside all day, actually... until I remembered I could just come to you."

Ludus looked over at her and smiled. "You can always come to me, yeah?"

She blinked, suddenly feeling very warm despite the chilly temperatures. "Y-Yeah."

Holly awkwardly sauntered over to where he was and shrugged off the tool bag, setting it down next to the wood. Then she cleared her throat, but when she did, she thought she heard Ludus shiver. She looked at him but he showed no signs of being cold save for his visible breath.

"Um... let's go inside and warm up first," she said, nodding to her house. "I can make some tea, too. After that we can work on the fence. I think I even have a coat you can wear. It might be a little bit small, but it's really warm - "

"Holly."

She flinched and turned back around, the firmness of his voice startling her. Ludus looked serious. "Wh-What?"

He turned his head away slightly, not meeting her eye. "Don't just... invite a man into your house, yeah?"

Flashbacks of the day he invited her into his flooded her mind, reminding her of what they both said at that time, too. "B-But - "

"I know, I know, it's just me," he conceded with a sigh. "And I'm technically still on the clock right now so I can't abandon my work any more than necessary, but... Next time, be more careful, yeah?" He put a hand on the side of his neck. "Actually, scratch that. It's not only 'don't just invite a man into your house,' it's 'don't invite any man except me into your house,' yeah?"

She should've been more embarrassed, but instead she felt elated with happiness. She was starting to figure him out. He would rub his neck and turn away and either start speaking in his dialect or add a that questioning word to his statement when he was bashful and nervous. He got jealous sometimes just like she did. This was Ludus when he was embarrassed, and she was the only person in the whole world who got to see him like this. A triumphant grin slowly spread across her face.

It _was_ still rather embarrassing, though. She nodded slowly. "O-Okay."

"Glad that's settled." He let out a sigh and his hand fell from his neck back to his side. "Now that that's out of the way, I could definitely go for some warm tea and a coat. I forget sometimes just how cold winter is."

Holly smiled and nodded, then they walked together up the steps to her house. She supposed this would be the last time she invited him inside so casually, at least for a while.

* * *

 _~CGA_


	6. Nerves

**A/N:** Hi everyone! I don't know if there's anybody left from last year, but I'm back! I actually wrote the next few sequential chapters quite a few months ago, but since this multichap (yeah, I'm calling it that now) is, well, a multichap, I didn't want to go out of order. But anyway, you can expect the new couple of updates in a relatively timely manner :) This story is probably close to the halfway mark, but we still have a lot to go! (Shameless plug: this all said, I'm resurrecting Fritz the Ditz from like two years ago as well, so look forward to that!)

Thanks to everyone who supported me this past year! Every time I got a notification about a follow/favorite/review it motivated me a little more to write for this story!

To try and make up for my lack of updates, this chapter is a whopping 3700 words! Lots of development here. Enjoy :D

* * *

"Pink!"

Ludus turned his head at the familiar teasing outburst, coming face to face with Iluka. Her finger pointed at him accusingly, her expression a mixture of fake shock and disgust. She stood her ground, a living statue in the middle of Lulukoko.

He brushed it off and pushed past her, but not before rolling his eyes with a sigh. This had been the norm for quite some time. It seemed his relationship with Holly was still the talk of all three towns, which meant it was everyone's duty to tease him about it.

Holly said the same thing once. The Westown residents often told her she acted like a newlywed when her eyes met his, or she always looked so happy when he came into town on an errand.

...Would she look happy today, too?

Ludus wrapped his hand around the carryall bag's strap, readjusting it as he remembered the way Holly held it the other day. A small smile crept onto his face as he reminisced.

"Your aura is pink today, too, Ludus."

The voice was softer with hidden, rather than blatant, mischief underneath. He didn't need to look this time to know it was Siluka.

He stared blankly ahead, not stopping his paced footsteps. He still didn't entirely understand what the twins meant with their aura nonsense, but he could only guess it was more teasing. They loved giving him a hard time regarding Holly.

Especially Iluka. The day she heard from Holly about the Fruit Fiesta's events, she punched his arm so hard the bruise was still there.

He'd have to be stupid to let her see him and Holly together again. He was sure the punishment would be much worse. Little sisters were brutal.

But… at least the twins were getting along with Holly. Truthfully he'd been worried about them interacting with other people - or rather, _not_ interacting with people - for quite some time. It was nice seeing them be outspoken about something other than their weather predictions. He just wished it wasn't about something juvenile like this.

The two girls must have received the hint that he wasn't playing around today, as he couldn't hear them anymore. After a few more strides, the edge of the village became visible. He quickened his pace, eager to finish up his work and surprise Holly with a visit.

They weren't officially going out again until tomorrow, but he received a request from Miranda regarding her creaky floorboards. Apparently, Noel had recently discovered that she could frighten customers by activating the squeaky boards and making eerie ghost noises. He definitely understood her dilemma, thinking back on all the twins' antics throughout the years, so he made sure this job was top priority.

...Besides, it gave him an excuse to see Holly on a work day.

Soon he found himself significantly colder than before, leaving a trail of footprints in the snow from Lulukoko to the outskirts of Westown, passing by Megan's family and Frank's farm along the way. It was nearing lunchtime, so he didn't see them out in their fields. It was quiet, the only sound not absorbed by the snow the sound of him crunching in it.

Westown's atmospheric presence never ceased to amaze him. There were fences and crazy rock formations and that abandoned train track that always captivated his attention every time he visited. When he first visited the town he remembered wondering why people would settle here, but after so many more returns, he finally understood.

It was peaceful.

Then again, maybe he only understood the charm of it because Holly now called it home. Not that he would ever admit that, especially to her.

Ludus quickly ascended the rightmost staircase, passing by Brad and Carrie, who smiled and waved to him, before approaching Miranda's general store. He opened the door and stepped inside, instantly greeted by a handful of loud voices.

"Welcome!"

"Hi there!"

"Ooh, a customer!"

As a non-resident, he couldn't pinpoint each voice, though he guessed the more enthusiastic ones belonged to young Noel and Colin. Miranda towered above both of them, an ear-to-ear smile plastered on her face.

Ludus returned their smiles and nodded, then quietly closed the door behind him. "Hi. I'm here about the floorboard problem."

Miranda's eyes widened. "Oh, already? That was so fast! I only just put in the request yesterday."

"If it's something that affects business, it warrants my full attention."

"Oh, you party poopers!" Noel cried out, stomping her foot. "It doesn't affect business one bit! People like being scared, y'see, 'cuz that makes them more likely to buy something."

"Um, Noel, I don't think that's how it works…" Timid Colin beside her tried to reason with her but trailed off before saying anything too scolding.

"Ha ha!" Miranda's mirthful eyes watched the two children before she cleared her throat and began ushering them outside. "All right, you two. Go on an' play outside so we can get some work done."

"What? Are you sayin' we're in the way?"

"That's exactly what I'm sayin', missy! Come back for suppertime, and I don't wanna hear from the neighbors that you were causin' trouble again!"

Noel pouted while Colin smiled awkwardly and tried dragging her away through the door. Ludus watched on with a small smile, lost in the nostalgia of his own childhood days, getting scolded and shooed outside by Tototara whenever she was in a business meeting regarding the inn.

Once the two were out of sight he faced Miranda once more. "It's upstairs, right?"

"Oh! Yeah, hang on, I'll lead ya right to it!"

They headed up the stairs into Miranda and Noel's living space. Once they reached the main living room, Ludus could instantly spot the floorboard that needed fixing.

It was bowing… That couldn't have been very safe, not to mention the annoyance of the creaking.

He knelt down and set his carryall bag down beside him, unzipping it and rummaging around for the right tool. "I'll have this done in just a few minutes, although… I'm a little worried about the state this place is in. It seems a little dangerous to live here if a floorboard is bowing this badly."

Miranda laughed it off with a wave of her hand. "Oh, don't ya worry 'bout that. I've been livin' here since I was pregnant with Noel, and this place's never given out on me. I guarantee throughout the years this floor's been replaced more than twenty times, board by board. She's sturdy as all get out."

As he assessed the damage and listened to her, Ludus slowly nodded. He supposed a long-standing resident would know a few more things about the building structure than him. He was a carpenter, not an architect.

He quietly began the job, replacing the creaky wood with a new board from his bag, all the while aware of Miranda's watchful eyes. He'd never personally done a job for her or her shop before, so he wondered who did it before. Was it someone in town? He knew Holly's uncle Frank was a bit of a handyman himself, so maybe…?

"All right, it's finished."

"Wow!" Miranda exclaimed as he brushed off his clothes. "I didn't know you would finish that fast. I was watchin' ya and couldn't even keep up with what you were doin'!"

Ludus shrugged his shoulders indifferently, gathering his tools and putting them back in the bag. "It's just my job. I'm used to it."

Miranda let loose a loud guffaw suddenly, giving him a mild startle. "You don't hafta be so gruff and tense, y'know. Holly's always goin' on and on about how sweet you are, it'd be nice to see it every once in a while!"

...Holly talked too much.

It was a bit endearing to know that was how she thought of him, though.

Miranda thanked him again and, after he cleaned up, the two headed back down the staircase. Before reaching the landing, two distinct voices were conversing in hushed tones. Ludus recognized them instantly - one was his girlfriend, the other her best friend. So he would get to see her today after all.

However, Holly and Lisette together were sure to be a recipe for disaster while he was around. He stood his ground on the staircase as Miranda went on ahead to ask what the girls wanted.

Ludus felt like an outsider who didn't belong, but he certainly didn't want to expose himself at this moment, so all he could do was look on silently and take notice of Holly's ever changing expressions.

"Oh, Noel's always gawkin' at that thing!"

Miranda's voice tore his eyes away from Holly for a moment while he processed the situation. The three of them were huddled around a small glass case on one of the shelves.

"It's such a nightmare to clean and I'm always afraid someone's gonna knock it over," Miranda continued, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Why don't you just get rid of it?" Holly's gentle voice asked.

Miranda sighed. "Someday, somebody might buy it, y'know? I bought it a looong time ago but never quite mustered up the courage to properly convey my feelings."

"Wow! I never knew ya almost got married, Miranda!" Lisette exclaimed, turning her head to gaze at Miranda with adoration. However, when she turned, her eyes met Ludus's. His blood ran cold.

Lisette seemingly paid him no mind, which made it that much more sinister. He couldn't remember ever exchanging more than ten words with the girl, but just knowing she was close to Holly and quite possibly was told everything about their relationship made his anxiety flare up.

"How long ago was this?" Lisette asked, instead of calling him out right then and there.

Miranda stuck a hand up to her chin, pondering. "How old is Noel again?"

The three shared some light laughter before the conversation was steered back.

"But anyway, instead of just throwin' it away, I figured I'd give a chance to another couple who wants to take that next step. Maybe it's wishful thinkin' that someone would want an old lady's used jewelry." Miranda added the last part with another laugh.

Holly slowly shook her head. "I don't think it's wishful… I think it's wonderful. Anybody who hears a story like that will definitely want to buy that ring, to unite with the one they love as well as reunite you with your old feelings."

"Ah, shoot, Holly… yer such a good kid!"

Ludus decided he couldn't just stand in silence anymore. This was a conversation he wasn't meant to be hearing. He was intruding.

He took a step forward, ready to announce himself as he made the rest of the way down the staircase.

"Maybe Ludus'll buy it for ya!"

In that one moment, Ludus had never been so grateful for his sense of balance. Lisette's giddy exclamation left him reeling, his foot hanging in the air above the step directly in front of him. However, his sense of balance did nothing to stop the deep red hue from tinting his cheeks. Or Holly's, for that matter.

"M-Maybe, but I don't think that's - "

A cough, loud and awkward, erupted from the depths of Ludus's throat - another embarrassment his sense of balance allowed to happen despite his wishes.

"Er…" he started slowly, awkwardly, hoping for something to come to him within the next few moments while the three ladies stared at him, "the creaky floorboard's been replaced, Miranda."

He pleaded with his eyes while hopefully not being terribly obvious to the other two that he was listening in. Miranda nodded and grinned knowingly.

"Oh, thanks! I don't think Noel can spook the customers for a while now. Ya really helped me out there!"

He was grateful for her playing along, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Holly, who seemed to be uncomfortably shifting her weight between her two feet. She...probably knew he'd been listening.

Lisette looked between the two of them and suddenly clasped her hands together. "That's right! Miranda, I remember Noel tellin' me she found some real pretty flowers the other day. Do you remember where they were?"

"A-As a matter of fact, I do!" Miranda replied cheerfully, playing along with another see-through lie. "I can take ya to 'em right now, if ya got time."

Lisette nodded, and the two of them headed out after a short goodbye to the two left inside the shop.

Holly averted her eyes to anything that wasn't Ludus, and he finally let loose a deep sigh.

"E kala mai."

She snapped her eyes up once she heard his voice. "For what?"

"For...eavesdropping on your conversation. I didn't mean to, really. The timing just gradually became more and more awkward to announce myself."

"O-Oh… Yeah."

She offered a small smile in response and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault we were talking about something like that in a public place."

"Holly…"

"More than that," she continued, taking a few steps back as she realized he took a few steps towards her, "I didn't know Miranda was having issues with the floor upstairs. Maybe that's why I've overheard visitors saying her shop was haunted! Noel's always pulling pranks like that, jeez."

Throughout her nonsensical rambling, Ludus continued his pursuit while she backed away, until she hit the wall of the shop and he caught up to her. She turned her head away, not looking at him.

"Holly, come with me." He gripped her hand and tilted his head so he could meet her eyes, giving her a smile. "I want to show you something."

She bit her lip but slowly nodded, following him as he led them out of the shop.

Surprisingly, they didn't run into any nosy kids or friends the second they stepped outside, but they were met with some light teasing from Wayne, returning home from his delivery job. Ludus adjusted the carryall bag on his shoulder and quickened his pace through town, having had enough teasing for one day already. Holly didn't seem to mind walking faster.

They made their way through the crossroads, their feet crunching in the snow, leaving side by side footprints. Ludus glanced to his side where Holly was, matching his pace evenly. He didn't know when she started walking right next to him, but he was thankful she wasn't nervously tagging along anymore. The thought caused a smile to creep upon his face.

The twins were nowhere in sight once they reached Lulukoko, and Ludus finally let go of Holly's hand and allowed himself a sigh of relief.

"Are you all right, Ludus?"

He smiled reassuringly. "Yeah. I've just had my fair share of people being interested in our relationship today. I guess...it's grating on me a bit."

"Oh." Holly's face looked crestfallen, and he realized he made a mistake.

"I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing. It just feels like they're belittling my feelings when they pick on me. I'm not in grade school anymore. I still get embarrassed around you, and when people point out how I act differently when you're involved, it bothers me."

Holly watched him with sad eyes, the meaning of his words probably not getting across through all his blabber. How could he properly express this?

She meant a lot to him. He wasn't sure the twins or Tototara or Miranda or whoever else truly understood that. He knew they were just teasing for good fun, and there was no harm in it...but he was trying to be a good man - a good partner - and not just a good boyfriend. To him, that word made it seem like their relationship was juvenile. How was he supposed to let her know exactly what he was feeling?

"I want to treasure you," he settled for after a few moments. "I want to take both our feelings into account and spend time together as a couple. We haven't been dating for very long, but I hope you know I'm serious about you, about us, and you're not just some passing interest. I meant it that day, when I told you I was in love with you. I still am."

"...Me too."

Holly wrapped her tiny hand around his and gripped tightly, smiling up at him with her adorable face. "I want to talk about all sorts of things with you, and properly convey my feelings at any time, and go on more dates, and just...overall not be so nervous around you anymore. I don't know why things have to change just because we're a couple."

She sighed and turned her head to stare out at the ocean. "I...I guess I'm a pretty shy person naturally, but since coming here I think I've really grown, and I know a lot of that is your influence. So thank you."

"Holly…"

"I'm serious about you, too. I want to spend more time with you and start ignoring all the teasing. Nobody knows how we really feel, so let's show them our relationship isn't something to be taken lightly."

A wide grin spread across his face after she finished. "You're right. All the teasing from our friends is probably what's causing us both to be so nervous about this." He brought his free hand up to his forehead, berating himself for only now realizing what should have been obvious from the start.

"Let's start over then," he suggested softly, glancing down at her. "No more unnecessary nerves or worrying about what other people think. Let's just do things at our own pace."

Holly smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!"

They stared at each other for long moments, their smiles gradually fading, replaced by expressions of yearning, while the ocean waves lapped at the shore. Without thinking or wasting any more time, they leaned into each other and shared a gentle kiss.

Ludus pulled away first, feeling the carryall bag slipping from his shoulder, while Holly stood still with her eyes closed and lips slightly parted, like she didn't realize the moment was over. He cleared his throat awkwardly, instantly snapping Holly out of her daze.

"So...that will obviously still be nerve-wracking for both of us for a while yet."

"Y-Yeah."

Holly kicked at the sand beneath her feet, her cheeks a delicate shade of pink as she looked back towards the ocean. Ludus chuckled at the sight of her.

"Come on. I wanted to show you something, remember?"

He led them over to the general store, Polepole, thankful there was nobody in range to have seen their...prior engagement. They decided to ignore everybody's teasings, but it would have been hard to do so had there been somebody there just afterwards.

He greeted Kina, the shopkeeper, and instantly spotted what he was looking for. He pointed it out to Holly.

"This is Lulukoko's version of a wedding ring. It's called a blue feather."

The feather sat underneath a thick sheet of glass in a small case, its sky blue hue captivating. It was in pristine condition, though he expected no less for what was possibly the town's most prized possession. He was definitely biased, but the blue feather was almost certainly a bigger deal than Miranda's wedding ring from earlier.

"It's beautiful," Holly remarked gently, crouching down to get a better look at it. She pressed her face as close to the glass as she could without touching it.

"Are you interested in the blue feather, Ludus?" Kina asked from behind the counter, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips.

Ludus steadied his breath before replying. "No. Not yet, anyway."

...Shoot. He should have steadied his thoughts as well.

His comment did not go unnoticed by Holly, whose cheeks lit up instantly. She stood up and took a few steps back from the display case, forcing a laugh.

"We'll see you later, Kina," Ludus told the shopkeeper, and then he ushered Holly away. He led her through the tunnel to the crossroads where they always found themselves spending most of their time together.

"S-Sorry, I got nervous," Holly admitted sheepishly. A self-deprecating smile spread across her face.

Ludus shook his head. "It would be weird if you didn't. Don't worry about it, yeah?"

He turned his head to smile at her and grabbed her hand again, running his thumb over her soft knuckles.

"I'm not expecting you to change overnight. I don't want you to. And I think it's going to take a while for me to change, too."

They stood in front of the pond, watching the small waterfall rush down.

"That blue feather…" Ludus trailed, hesitating. "There's a legend passed down in the village that says a magical blue bird dropped a single feather, and whoever claims it will have an everlasting, happy marriage. It's pretty fantastical, and the feather we saw just now obviously isn't the one from the legend and it's just a replica, but…"

He steeled his nerves. He was the one who suggested they try to get over their nerves, so why was he hesitating and stalling?

"I love you, Holly. When I propose to you, I want to do it with a blue feather and not a wedding ring, because that's the tradition in my town. But I know you consider Westown your home now, whose tradition is the wedding ring. Are you okay with not - "

Holly interrupted him with a short fit of giggles. As Ludus stood dumbfounded, she smiled up at him.

"The item you use doesn't matter… I'd be happy even if you gave me a blade of grass as long as our feelings are the same."

He sighed in both relief and happiness. How was this girl so impossibly sweet and perfect?

"B-But, I think it's way too early to even think about this."

"Huh? No - that's not what I'm doing," Ludus stuttered in reply. He faced her. "I'm not proposing to you right here, right now."

Holly laughed beside him, gripping his hand tighter. "I know."

He smiled down at her. "No matter how long it takes to get there, I would like to spend my life with you, Holly. I _will_ propose to you someday...and I hope you'll accept when the time comes."

She offered a small, happy nod in response, and they watched their reflections in the water for a while longer before returning to their respective jobs.

* * *

 _~CGA_


End file.
